Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Hearty enjoyment or appreciation: synonym: zest.
  • noun Something that lends pleasure or zest.
  • noun A keen liking for something.
  • noun A spicy or savory condiment or appetizer, such as chutney or olives.
  • noun A condiment of chopped sweet pickles.
  • noun The flavor of a food, especially when appetizing.
  • noun A trace or suggestion of a pleasurable quality.
  • intransitive verb To take keen pleasure in; enjoy fully.
  • intransitive verb To be pleased with or look forward to.
  • intransitive verb Archaic To give spice or flavor to.
  • intransitive verb Archaic To have a pleasing or distinctive taste.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To like the taste or flavor of; partake of with pleasure or gratification.
  • To be pleased with or gratified by, in general; have a liking for; enjoy; experience or cause to experience pleasure from.
  • To give an agreeable taste to; impart a pleasing flavor to; cause to taste agreeably.
  • To savor of; have a smack or taste of; have the cast or manner of.
  • To have a pleasing taste; in general, to give pleasure.
  • To have a flavor, literally or figuratively.
  • noun A sensation of taste; savor; flavor; especially, a pleasing taste; hence, pleasing quality in general.
  • noun Perception or appreciation of peculiar, especially of pleasing, quality in anything; taste, in general; liking; appetite: generally used with for before the thing, sometimes with of.
  • noun A peculiar or characteristic, and especially a pleasing, quality in an object; the power of pleasing; hence, delight given by anything.
  • noun A small quantity just perceptible; tincture; smack.
  • noun That which is used to impart a flavor; especially, something taken with food to increase the pleasure of eating, as sauce; also, a small highly seasoned dish to stimulate the appetite, as caviare, olives, etc. See hors-d'æuvre.
  • noun In harpsichord music, an embellishment or grace consisting of a repetition of a principal note with a trill and a turn after it: usually double relish, but see also single relish, under single.
  • In joinery, to shape (the shoulders of a tenon which bear against a rail). See relishing-machine.
  • noun In joinery, projection of the shoulder of a tenoned piece beyond the part which enters the mortise.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To have a pleasing or appetizing taste; to give gratification; to have a flavor.
  • noun (Carp.) The projection or shoulder at the side of, or around, a tenon, on a tenoned piece.
  • transitive verb To taste or eat with pleasure; to like the flavor of; to partake of with gratification; hence, to enjoy; to be pleased with or gratified by; to experience pleasure from.
  • transitive verb To give a relish to; to cause to taste agreeably.
  • noun A pleasing taste; flavor that gratifies the palate; hence, enjoyable quality; power of pleasing.
  • noun Savor; quality; characteristic tinge.
  • noun A taste for; liking; appetite; fondness.
  • noun That which is used to impart a flavor; specifically, something taken with food to render it more palatable or to stimulate the appetite; a condiment.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A pleasing taste; flavor that gratifies the palate; hence, enjoyable quality; power of pleasing.
  • noun Savor; quality; characteristic tinge.
  • noun A taste for; liking; appetite; fondness.
  • noun That which is used to impart a flavor; specifically, something taken with food to render it more palatable or to stimulate the appetite; a condiment.
  • noun A cooked or pickled sauce, usually made with vegetables or fruits, generally used as a condiment.
  • noun In a wooden frame, the projection or shoulder at the side of, or around, a tenon, on a tenoned piece.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the taste experience when a savoury condiment is taken into the mouth
  • noun vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment
  • noun spicy or savory condiment
  • verb derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Alteration of Middle English reles, taste, from Old French, something remaining, from relaissier, to leave behind; see release.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Variant of relese, with assimilation to -ish.

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Examples

  • It also called for roasted chopped green chile peppers, but I still had the corn relish from the Sopa Tarasca, so I used it instead.

    Archive 2009-09-01 Laura 2009

  • A most delicious relish is made with Roquefort cheese, the size of a walnut, rubbed in with equal quantity of butter, moistened with sherry (lemon juice will serve if sherry be not available), and seasoned with salt, pepper, celery salt, and paprika; then squeezed into the troughs of a dozen slender, succulent sticks of celery.

    Jack London's Recipes: An Insight Into Jack's Dietary Habits 2010

  • In my household this relish is basically a chutney that will be used on Indian food for sure -- although since it is spice-free (except the chile pepper flakes) I would like to force myself to go outside the box and use it on other foods.

    Archive 2009-02-01 Laura 2009

  • There is a certain relish that some on the left side of the political divide take in attacking progressives in a way that ensures that the boundaries of political discourse will be policed consistent with an information environment slanted in favor of the right-wing.

    Jonathan Weiler: On False Equivalencies Jonathan Weiler 2010

  • It gives me very great pleasure to find that you can again relish reading; as it is a source of unspeakable consolation; and it argues besides that the pleasure of corrispondence will again revive.

    Letter 104 2009

  • In my household this relish is basically a chutney that will be used on Indian food for sure -- although since it is spice-free (except the chile pepper flakes) I would like to force myself to go outside the box and use it on other foods.

    Taste & Create: Sweet Tomato Relish Laura 2009

  • It also called for roasted chopped green chile peppers, but I still had the corn relish from the Sopa Tarasca, so I used it instead.

    Cornbread Take 2: Featherbed Eggs Laura 2009

  • There is a certain relish that some on the left side of the political divide take in attacking progressives in a way that ensures that the boundaries of political discourse will be policed consistent with an information environment slanted in favor of the right-wing.

    Jonathan Weiler: On False Equivalencies Jonathan Weiler 2010

  • Those who promote the expression relish its ambiguity.

    Andrew Levine: The "Existential Threat" 2010

  • Fukujinzuki, a Japanese pickled relish is now on the menu, and can be added to any dish for $1, as well as Natto (fermented soy beans), Rakkyo (pickled shallots) and raw egg.

    Go Go Curry Hits a Japanese Curry Grand Slam | Midtown Lunch - Finding Lunch in the Food Wasteland of NYC's Midtown Manhattan 2007

Comments

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  • It could be used in an abstract way like here:

    Jane didn't relish the task of thelling the class they would have to miss the match.

    It means that she didn't liked the fact of being the one to tell the news to the class.

    May 5, 2010

  • You don't thay!

    May 5, 2010

  • He believes that the humanities and the social sciences in particular have become corrupted — a term he employs with relish — by left-wing ideology, and that they are failing to adequately educate students.

    January 18, 2018